Sheet metal slider



Jan. 17, 1961 Q, HU-ELSTER 2,968,078

SHEET METAL SLIDER 4 Filed Jan. 7, 195a INVENTOR 0H0 Jdhn Huels'fer BY zfgflm ATTORNEY SHEET METAL SLIDER Filed Jan. 7, 1958, Ser. No. 707,641

4 Claims. (Cl. 24-20514) My invention relates 'to sliders for zipper fasteners especially, and although the improvement is valuable in locking-type sliders, the invention is adaptable also to non-locking sliders.

Sliders for zipper fasteners are usually made from sheet metal with the pull tab pivotally attached to the front wing of the slider. This has always necessitated a projection or bump on the front wing which is objectionable especially when zippers are installed in a garment where a flap overlies the fastener. When such a garment is laundered, the fabric may be pressed against such projection with resulting damage not only to the fabric, but also possible damage to the slider.

In all such sheet metal sliders which heretofore have been manufactured, the projection is at least as much as the thickness of the pull tab added to the thickness of material surrounding the trunnion or pintle of the tab.

One of the objects of the invention, therefore, is to provide improved means for attaching the pull tabto the front wing of a sheet metal slider wherein the attaching means does not protrude further than the thickness of the pull tab itself, thus reducing the overall height of such a slider to an absolute minimum.

Another object is to provide an improved two piece sheet metal slider with a through-and-through pintle which shall be of maximum strength and compactness.

A further object is to provide an improved two-piece locking-type slider where a pull tab carrying a locking pin or cam is pivotally attached to the front wing of the slider and wherein such pin or cam cannot be exposed toward the front of the slider, thus avoiding damage to such pin or cam.

A still further object is to provide an improved slider of the above type wherein the pull tab is limited in 'its upward swing to less than 90' so that it is always in the most favorable position when subjected to heavy outside pressure to withstand such pressure.

In the accompanying drawings, 1 have shown for purpose of illustration one embodiment which my invention may assume in practice. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a zipper fastener equipped with my improved slider.

Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section showing the pull tab in slider locked position.

Fig. 3 is a similar section but showing the pull tab in unlocked position.

Fig. 4 is a crosssection on line 44 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a cross-section on line 5--5 of Fig. 1 with pull tab in raised position, and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the pull tab, per se.

The zipper fastener illustrated may be of any wellknown type having a pair of fabric tapes 6 carrying rows of fastener elements or scoops 7. The slider is a sheet metal slider having a front wing 8, a back wing 9 connected together by a hollow neck portion 10. Each wing has inwardly directed flanges 11 which together with the neck define a Y-shaped channel through which the fastener elements pass during opening or closing of the zipper.

atento The pull tab 12 may be of any desired shape, but it is usually a rectangular piece of sheet metal having a hole 13 adjacent one end resulting in bifurcations 14 connected together at the end of the tab by a through-andthrough pintle portion 16. A short lug 17, about the same width as the hole 13, projects beyond the pintle 16 and is bent inwardly at a suitable angle preferably about 45. On the other side of the pintle there is a lug 18 which may be similar to the lug 17 if the slider is to be of the non-locking type, but if the slider is of the lockingtype as illustrated, this lug 18' is longer than the lug 17 and is bent to extend downwardly into the channel of the slider and preferably inclining toward the neck 10 when the pull tab is in locked position, as shown in Fig. 2. The end 19 of this lug 18 may be rounded or flat with rounded corners as shown so as to engage smoothly upon the fastener elements when the pull tab is swung into locking position as shown in Fig. 2. This locking lug acts as a cam pressing the fastener elements under it into a recess 20 in the back wing of slider, thus producing effective locking of slider. While the short end extension or lug 17 and the locking lug 18 have their own separate functions, for some purposes they may be regarded as parts of the pintle portion 16.

The pull tab 12 is attached to the slider by a pair of ears 21 and 22 which are struck out from the front wing 8, thus providing an opening 23 thereon. They are first made to extend at an angle as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, then the pull tab is put in place laying fiat on the slider as seen in Fig. 2, and the ears are bent over against the through-and-through pintle 16. At the sides of the opening 23 under the pintle 16, the front wing 8 is formed with opposed recesses 24 so that when the pull tab 12 is lifted to the position shown in Fig. 3, the corners of the pull tab can swing into such recesses 24. The bottom surface of these recesses therefore in combination with the inner inclined surfaces of the ears 21 and 22 provide a bearing for the pull tab 12. It will be noted, however, that the swinging movement of the tab is limited to a desired angle preferably less than because the front surface of the prong or lug 18 abuts against the inner surface of the car 22, and at the same time, the pull tab strikes the corner of the ear 21.

It will be noted that the ear 21 bears against angular surface on the extension or lug 17 and the car 22 bears against the forward angular surface 26 on the pintle portion 16 when the tab is in locked position. These ears also retain the pull tab on a fixed pivot when swung to the position of Fig. 3 at which time, the ear 21 bears on the rounded corner 27 between the lug 17 and the angular surface 26. At the same time, the ear 22 bears against the front surface of the uplifted locking lug 18. Thus the pull tab is retained in place effectively without anything which protrudes beyond the front surface more th-n the pull tab itself, and there is presented to the fabric of a garment or to a pressing machine only a broad surface which includes the pull tab, and even that broad surface is spaced from the front wing of the slider only the absolute minimum distance. Although the pull tab can be lifted only about as far as shown in Fig. 3, this is the most desirable position in operating the slider in many garments such as trousers, jackets or dresses. Since it is limited in its swinging movement, it will always fall into the forward or proper position to withstand the greatest stresses and of course the locking pin or cam will not be exposed as in the other case when the pull tab is swung to the reverse position.

While I have shown and described one embodiment which my invention may assume in practice; it will be understood that this embodiment is merely for the purpose of illustration and description and that various other the forms may be devised within the scope of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A sheet metal slider comprising parallel front and back wings united by a neck at one end, a one piece sheet metal pull tab having a pintle portion at one end and a hole through the tab adjacent the pintle portion, a pair of cars struck out from the front wing of the slider creating an opening in said front wing, a pair of lugs integral with the pull tab on opposite sides of the pintle portion extending angularly into the said opening in the slider when the pull tab is laying fiat upon the slider in its forward position, the forward one of said ears extending into the hole in said pull tab when the latter is in said position, and the other of said ears having an angular surface bearing against the rearward one of said lugs when the pull tab is in its forward position, the said ears being of such length that they do not project from the front face of the slider substantially more than the thickness of said pull tab.

2. A sheet metal slider comprising front and back wings united by a neck at one end, a one piece sheet metal pull tab having a through-and-through pintle at one end and a hole through the tab adjacent the pintle, a pair of ears struck out to extend angularly towards each other from the front wing of the slider, said ears projecting from the front Wing of the slider only to the extent of the thickness of the pull tab, and the pintle providing bearing surfaces cooperating directly with the under-surface of said ears to confine the pintle against substantial outward movement while permitting pivotal movement about said pintle, the portions of the front wing material on each side of said opening in the front wing being inwardly recessed to provide bearing surfaces for the corners of the pull tab when the tab is swung outwardly about said pintle.

3. A sheet metal slider as defined in claim 1 and a locking lug constituting an extension of said forward lug which projects a substantial distance into the space between said wings when the pull tab is laying fiat against the slider in its forward position.

4. A sheet metal slider as defined in claim 1 and a locking lug formed as an extension of said forward angular lug, said locking lug being arranged at such an angle that when the pull tab is laying fiat against the slider in its forward position, said locking lug will extend a. substantial distance into the space between said wings and somewhat toward the slider neck whereby when the pull tab is lifted, the front surface of the said locking lug will strike the under-surface of said forward ear and act as a stop to limit upward swinging movement of the pull tab to an angle of less than References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,045,626 Winterhalter June 30, 1936 2,301,792 Plumley Nov. 10, 1942 2,322,847 Hartley June 29, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS 139,854 Sweden Apr. 14, 1953 749,420 Norway May 23, 1956 1,157,918 France Sept. 19, 1955 one a- L.- l 

